Palermo's Pizza and Pasta

There's just something magical about a really great slice of cheese pizza. Honestly, I don't think that I could be friends with someone who doesn't like cheese pizza. Or just cheese, for that matter. I've been so excited to write about Palermo's Pizza & Pasta in Seattle. Opened in 2002, Palermo's has 2 locations, one in Capitol Hill and another in Ballard. The restaurant is small & cozy, you can always get a table, and the service is excellent. Even better, they have great hours, excellent happy hour specials and the prices are great! This is my GO-TO pizza place, and I eat here at least weekly. Being walking distance from my apartment, it is also one of those Italian joints that you try something different each time you go. Last Monday, being on the less hungry side of the fence, but excited about the possibility of leftovers, I ordered a medium cheese pizza and the Italian salad. This pizza was a perfect 10. Crispy and buttery crust (they make their dough from scratch, daily), but soft and cheesey center. Not overly done, just a good solid cheese pizza.

Patrick enjoying a medium cheese pizza

Another pizza that I have often ordered at Palermo's is the Red Goat (red peppers, goat cheese, and more cheese). Although delish, not so great the next day.

On another occasion, I have ordered the Palermo Calzone (it's like a pizza pastry!)

I love calzones, but eat them infrequently. The calzone at Palermo's was one of the best that I've had. It included pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms and black olives. Visit Palermo's and no matter what you're in the mood for, you're not going to be disappointed. Buon appetito!

Palermo's Home Page

Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Pizza

I really need to stop blogging before lunch, I just get too hungry thinking about cheese and bread and I make poor eating decisions.

Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza is the best deep dish pizza I have ever had.

If you are planning a trip to Chicago, there are various Lou Malnati's Pizza locations throughout the City and Northern Suburbs, maybe Southern Suburbs too (but most of us know not to go there). Gino's East and Giordano's are good choices for deep dish too, but Lou's is where you want to go if you only get one shot. Lou Malnati's opened on March 17th, 1971 in Lincolnwood. "Lou always thought it was funny that an Italian should open a pizzeria in a Jewish neighborhood on an Irish holiday. But that was Lou's style, he loved all types of people and didn't care much about what people thought." Well guess what, Lou. We think you're pretty awesome.

Note: If you just aren't a deep dish lover, Lou Malnati's thin crust pizza is FANTASTIC ...and is the only proven hangover cure known to college kids.

Everyone that enjoys deep dish knows that having a perfect crust is a priority. Lou's cornmeal crust is both crunchy, yet sweet. I also love how you can really taste the wine in the chunky tomato sauce. My mom's favorite pizza is the sausage. Lou's sausage "patty" is specially created for the restaurant, layered on top of the cheese and just under the pizza sauce. Yummm....

One (more) thing I love about this pizza is that you can find it at The Taste of Chicago, Lollapalooza, etc. Lou knows you love him, so he comes to you. The photo above was taken at Lolla in 2010. As you can imagine, this was one of the better days of my life: friends, music, beer and authentic deep dish pizza = happy girl.

Yes, I have had deep dish frozen pizzas delivered to me in Seattle, they ship in about 2 days, packed in frozen ice. My favorites are the heart shaped pizzas you can get around Valentines Day. If you live in the USA, you can also have Lou's delivered to your home - just follow this link: http://www.tastesofchicago.com/

Lou Malnati's Home Page

Let's talk Bread Sticks @ La Rustica

I like bread sticks a lot. It's like enjoying a great crust, I guess. I have some really strong, sentimental feelings about cheesy bread, pizza hut bread sticks, etc., we will broach that in time my friend. However, exactly 10 days ago I visited La Rustica in West Seattle. This place literally did nothing wrong the whole meal and I can't stop telling people to go and try it. In fact, I would say that the only complaint I have is that the restaurant isn't walking distance from my home or work. The fine JP Withum and I easily polished off four baskets of their bread sticks. These lovely little sticks of love, no doubt warm, sliced open and spread with butter and herb blend. My pet peeve is going to a restaurant, and they only bring you out bread after you order food. It's like, just give me the bread or don't give me the bread, stop playing all these games you silly troll. Chances are, I'm here because I'm hungry.

Anyway...back to my romantic Italian dinner with my boyfriend's best friend...

Again, this place failed to fail, and the bread stick basket was brought out with the water. The sun was setting over Alki Beach and well, everything was picture perfect. Sensory overload! After the bread sticks, we could have gone home but obviously, we didn't. JP ordered the Cinghiale in Agro Dolce (wild boar simmered in raisins and orange zest in a red wine and vinegar sauce, served on a baked polenta cake) and I tried the Risotto Gamberi E Asparagi (creamy pesto risotto with asparagus, cherry tomatoes and prawns) - yes, everything was amazing. It was a fabulous, memorable meal. We got the vanilla creme brûlée as well.

La Rustica Homepage

The History of Pizza

It is believed that pizza has been eaten for centuries as first seen in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures, cooked on flat breads in mud ovens.
According to aboutpizza.com, it was a Napoleon baker named Raffaele Esposito who is credited with creating the first margarita pizza when he combined tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil in the late 1800's. Raffaele said that he wanted to impress the Queen of Italy by using the colors of the Italian flag - red, white and green. He was also the first person to use cheese on a pizza, bless his delicious soul. Today, pizza is one of the most well known and loved foods, from Little Caesars to gourmet.

What's your go-to pizza joint?

PIZZA PIZZA!

Today is a big day, HUGE! It's post #1 of my new blog - Pizzah Porn. So I ask my mom, "What is the very first slice of pizza I have ever eaten". She replies, "Little Caesars - yuck". Yuck? This brought back some great childhood memories for me. In Chicago, and I believe elsewhere, they have these big Little (pun?) Caesar jungle gym/restaurant setups - sort of like Chuck E. Cheese. I can't remember what the pizza tastes like @ CEC, probably because I am 25 and have no kids.

Anyway, twice a year - after my semi-annual DENTAL appointment - my mom would take my little brother and me to Little Caesar's for some pizza and play. My mother - I don't give her nearly enough credit - she sure knew how to get kid(s) to go to the dentist! We tried to avoid telling Dr. Bernie about our afternoon plans of gooey cheese and germy slides and it was an all around productive & happy day for everyone involved.

I still love Little Caesars, their $5 medium pizzas sort of taste like cardboard, but are nonetheless delightful and they make you feel like you're some wild naked Greek Tarzan character when you take a big bite. I have yet to visit one while in Washington, but according to Google, there is one at 3820 Rainier Avenue South with a review rating of 1 out of 5 stars. WINNING! Maybe I wouldn't consider their pizza to be "Art", but it's very enjoyable and I'll throw down for a pepperoni and some crazy bread any day.